Evacuations ordered as brush fire threatens homes in Rancho ...

Nearly 200 firefighters are working to contain a fire that sparked in Rancho Bernardo Wednesday morning. NBC 7's Jeanette Quezada reports. 

Firefighters responded Wednesday to a brush fire on a mountainside in Rancho Bernardo that threatened homes and injured one person, according to San Diego Fire-Rescue.

The so-called Center Fire, which is also referred to as the Bernardo Fire, started around 8:55 a.m. near Bernardo Center Drive and Camino del Norte. SDFD was responding alongside Poway Fire. By 11 a.m., the fire had grown to seven acres with no containment but fire crews appeared to have an upper hand on the blaze and some resources were being dispersed. By 1 p.m. containment was at 50%.

Evacuations

The fire, at one point, had the potential for 100 acres and evacuations were ordered as the fire threatened structures, SDFD said.

A map of areas under evacuation alerts shows evacuations were ordered for zones just west of Interstate 15 and east of Black Mountain as well as some portions north of Black Mountain. Other areas north of the mountain were under evacuation warnings.

By noon, all evacuation orders and warnings were lifted except for a zone called SDC-1220 as shown on the map above. You can get a closer view of the map here.

A Temporary Evacuation Point is located at the Costco parking lot (12080 Carmel Mountain Road, San Diego, CA 92128).

CENTER FIRE UPDATE: A fast response by air units helped quickly contain the #CenterFire. Homes were threatened. Most evacuation orders lifted. 7 acres burn. Crews will be in the area through the afternoon/evening. Remember to always have a fire plan & be prepared to evacuate. pic.twitter.com/o9vaDj8j2a

— SDFD (@SDFD) January 22, 2025

The fire was also burning near schools. RB Kinder Care was evacuated and Turtleback Elementary School had students sheltering in place. The Poway Unified School District has evacuated students from Rolling Hills Elementary and also said they were also keeping students at other campuses indoors as a precaution.

Parents of children attending RB Kinder Care are being directed to 11203 Paseo Montanoso, after having originally been told to pick up children at the corner of Camino del Norte and Paseo Montanoso.

The brush fire forced evacuations as it burned seven acres in Rancho Bernardo. NBC 7's Nicole Gomez reports. 

Road Closures

A SigAlert has been issued for northbound and southbound Interstate 15 at Camino Del Norte where smoke was creating stop-and-go traffic. The offramps to Camino del Norte were also closed.

San Diego police said the following roads were closed:

• I-15 northbound was closed between Camino Del Norte and Bernardo Center Drive
• Bernardo Center and Camino Del Norte
• Paseo Montanoso at Avenida De Los Lobos and Camino Del Norte

Injuries

One person suffered burn injuries in the fire and was transported to a nearby hospital, the fire department said. It was not clear what started the fire or how the person was injured.

About 175 firefighters responded from agencies including Rancho Santa Fe Fire Protection District, Cal Fire San Diego, Poway fire and others. Several brush rigs and fire engines, as well as three firefighting helicopters have been assigned to the scene.

This is a developing story. Details may change as information is released.